


Mouse of Winterfell, Dragon of Westeros

by Sookiestark



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2018-12-15 14:59:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sookiestark/pseuds/Sookiestark
Summary: What if Ned had rescued Rhaenys before she was killed? What if she was brought back to Winterfell and fostered there?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story several months ago and didn't like where it was headed, so I rewrote it. I am not sure where it is headed but that's the adventure...

When Mouse is six, Robb is three, and Jon is three.. A raven comes to Winterfell with news from the King. Mouse wakes to Old Nan looking over her in the boy's bed. “Little mouse, you are getting too old to sleep with the boys.”  
Mouse smiles at her. “I’m sorry but I had bad dreams again. I never have bad dreams when I sleep with Robb and Jon.”  
The girl holds her arms up and hugs the old woman. Old Nan softens, “My beautiful mouse,” and hugs her back. Old Nan was responsible for their care at Winterfell. She woke them up in the morning, got them washed, dressed, fed and told them stories. She held them and rocked them and soothed them. She would tell them of a woods witch who fell in love with a prince, a dragon who laid eggs at Winterfell, wolves who turned to men by daylight, the Children of the Forest, Bran the Builder, the Night’s Watch, and the Wildings. Mouse loved Old Nan and her gnarled cold fingers, snow white, how those fingers would wind yarn into balls, make bread, hold them, weave flowers into crowns and tuck them in at night.   
Robb and Mouse would ask Old Nan who was her favorite and who she loved best. Old Nan said she loved them all equally but Mouse and Robb knew better. Mouse knew that Robb thought Old Nan loved him best. Why wouldn’t he? Lady Catelyn and Lord Stark did love him best. He was the heir and a good boy. But Mouse knew Old Nan loved Jon best. She loved that he looked the most like a Stark and acted most like a Stark. ”A true Northern son,” she would whisper to him as he cried when Lady Catelyn left them in the nursery, only taking Robb. Jon rarely cried anymore.

Mouse’s name is Rhaenys Targaryen. Lord Eddard saved her from death in King’s Landing. When the capitol was being sacked, her mother and brother were murdered. She had hid and when Lord Stark had found her, he had knelt before the King and begged for her life. King Robert had been furious but he conceded, if Ned would bring her to Winterfell. He had ridden her to the North and went South. When he returned, he brought Jon.   
If she thinks back as far as she can, she can remember her mother’s smile and that she smelled like cinnamon and oranges. But these aren’t even memories, they are almost sensations, primitive collections of her earliest thoughts. Her first real memory is of her, the boys, and Lord Stark in the Wolfswood and he was telling her how to track a deer, find your way back if you were lost, or the different types of birds and trees, wild plants and flowers, what was edible and what would hurt you. Quiet afternoons following him down paths near the castle, where blackberries grew heavy and black and the thorns would scratch their legs and hands. Rhaenys and Robb would ask all the questions and Jon would be quiet and soak in all the answers.

At night, the boy’s father comes to the nursery to play with them and tickle them. She loves Lord Stark and wishes she was real his daughter because then she would be a Stark and Winterfell would be her real and true home. Lady Catelyn treats her kindly but she is never kind to Jon. So, Rhaenys is twice as kind as she can be to Jon. She isn’t Lady Catelyn’s daughter either and maybe one day she might also be treated coldly by Lady Catelyn.  
They receive the raven the morning Sansa is born. Lord Eddard Stark comes to get the children in the early dawn to see the babe in the cradle by Lady’s Stark bed. “It is your sister, Sansa.” He says to the boys gently. Rhaenys knows that she has no sister and her brother was killed, as was her mother, father, grandfather. She does have an Aunt and Uncle somewhere in Essos. But even the fact, she knows this is a secret. Old Nan told her one night when the boys went to sleep. She told her the story of her grandmother who was a sad and beautiful queen dying on Dragonstone, delivering Danaerys. The children fled to Essos, a great land beyond the sea. Mouse does not ask too many questions because Lord Eddard does not talk about her family that used to rule the Seven Kingdoms and he does not let anyone else talk about them. 

They receive a message from the King. The Queen has had a baby boy named Joffrey. One day, Mouse will be Queen and Joffrey will be her husband. Mouse does not ever want to leave Winterfell. Lord Stark reads the message over and over. He picks her up and tells her that she will go to live in King’s Landing in the Red Keep. He tells her that she will be a beautiful Queen and will help the King be a fair and just ruler to all the realm.   
“Little Mouse, I met your mother once. She was beautiful and everyone loved her. She would be glad to see you Queen.”   
Soon after the raven, Maester Luwin starts teaching her to learn to read and write, as well as numbers. He says she has a fine, steady hand and a quick mind. He starts teaching her history and geography. She asks Lord Stark one night as he visits the nursery, if she could write her mother’s family. Together, she and Maester Luwin write a letter to her Uncle Oberyn and Uncle Doran who is a Prince in Dorne. They send it and a few months later, she receives three letters, one from her cousin Arianne Martell, one from her Uncle Doran who tells her to listen and be good, and one from Uncle Oberyn, who tells her of her beautiful mother who loved her, of the hot sun in Dorne, of her family who loves her fiercely, and all his travels to faraway lands. Uncle Oberyn and Doran send more than the letters. They send a crates of peppers dried, red and orange, cinnamon, cloves, some Dornish wine, salty olives and lemons steeped in sugar. They send her beautiful silks and linen dyed in orange and yellow to make dresses and a huge crate full of toys, dolls, wooden animals, knights, and beautiful puppets, even a small wooden sword and a wooden shield with the red sun with a golden spear through it. Twice a year, Mouse receive gifts from Dorne. She loves all the things, but the letters are the best part

Lord Stark seemed troubled by the gifts, but Lady Catelyn was delighted and wrote back thanking them. Rhaenys is more delighted that she has a remarkable family far away who loves her no matter what that sent magical gifts to her. Lady Catelyn sends for a Septa to come and teach Rhaenys the Faith of the Seven. Old Nan snorts when she hears of the Septa coming. “We worship the Old Gods in the North.”  
Mouse decides she will try to sleep in her own bed. She is getting too old. However, that night when she hears Old Nan snoring, she climbs between the boys and sleeps in the spot she always has, in between them.


	2. Chapter 2

When Mouse is nine, Robb is 6 and Jon is 6.. Ned rides off to fight the Greyjoy’s with the King.  
She no longer sleeps in the same room as the boys, instead she shares a room with Sansa. Old Nan goes back and forth between rooms. Mouse still has nightmares of men trying to hurt her, to steal her away. When she does, she will tiptoe across the room to the boys and crawl next to one of them. Now they are six, they have their own beds and she misses them all in one bed. She understands that they are getting too old to sleep together, but there was safety all snuggled in one bed.  
Rhaenys has been studying the histories and the houses of Westeros. She understands that Lord Eddard is the Warden of the North and holds it for King Robert Baratheon.She knows that Lord Stark must go when the King calls his banners. She also knows that good men die in war and bad men sometimes prosper. She knows Lady Catelyn is afraid for her husband Lady Catelyn is expecting another child and does not want Ned to leave.

Lord Eddard Stark is her favorite person in Winterfell. She knows that some think him somber and cold, too quiet, too serious, but she loves him more than anything. He has let her play with the sword and shield. When the boys spar, he lets Rodrik teach her as well. She is quick and fast. Rodrik says she is Dornish in the way she fights and Lord Eddard laughed. She tells her Uncle Oberyn this in her next letter. He writes how wonderful that is and sends her a spear, lighter for her small, quick Dornish body.   
Lord Eddard is kind and loves her. He is the reason she is called Mouse. He has called her Mouse always and when he says it, she hears how much he cares for her.

Uncle Benjen comes from the Wall to say goodbye to Lord Eddard. He stays for a few days and tells her that she Great-Great Uncle at the Wall. His name is Aemon and he is a Maester. Uncle Benjen looks at her and Robb and Jon for a long time. The night before Lord Eddard leaves they get in a fight. She is certain it is about her and their dead sister Lyanna. She asks Old Nan about it and hears the story of how her father crowned Lyanna the Queen of Love and Beauty, instead of his lady wife and her mother, Elia. Her father kidnapped Lyanna and held her in a tower, starting a war. She thinks about it all night, unable to sleep. 

Lord Eddard comes to her room before he leaves She asks him. “ What is my sigil? What are my words?”  
He looks at her thoughtfully and sits on the stairs with her. “House Targaryen had a black field with a fierce three headed dragon in red. The words of House Targaryen were Fire and Blood. Surely, Maester Luwin has taught you the histories, little mouse?”

“I know my grandfather was the Mad King Aerys II. My father was Rhaegar Targaryen and my mother was Elia Martell.” 

“Mouse, you come from a long line of noble kings, warriors, wizards, dragon riders, and wise men on both sides.”  
She hands him a small red pouch filled with herbs, stones, and a drop of her blood. “Lord Stark, I made you a talisman for protection, to keep you safe from harm. I have seen mothers making these for their sons. I made you one. Wear it and you will come home safe.”  
He looks at her as he rubs it in his hand. “Thank you, Mouse.”

“My father went to war and he never came back. I know that Lady Stark needs you. Robb, Sansa and Jon.. we all need you. Please wear it.”  
“I did not know your father but you are quick and graceful like him. Your lips and the shape of your face has the look of a Targaryen. I am sure I will return home.”

“Do you hate me because you hated my father?”

His grey eyes grow steely and she instantly regrets saying anything. “We won’t talk about your father today, Mouse. Regardless of what I think of your father, I care for you no less than if you were my own child. I am glad you are here with us and you have been my mouse since I found you. “

She hugs him tightly, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. “I care for you too, Da,”  
She says the word and feels embarrassed that she called him her baby name for him. Years ago, he told her she should not call him that. He does not reprimand her. Instead, he wipes the tears from her cheeks and smiles. “Take care of Lady Catelyn and Sansa for me. Be a good girl. Keep up your lessons. I will have Maester Luwin find you a musician to help teach you the harp. Your father was an excellent musician and maybe, you will be good too. “ 

He rides away with his men. In the days that follow, she writes Maester Aemon and a minstrel comes from White Harbor to teach her the harp. Septa Esme is horrified at the thought of teaching a girl music and makes sure to chaperone all the lessons. Like most things, Rhaenys is a quick learner and has real skill. Jon also is very good at the harp, but Robb has no talent. 

When Lord Stark comes home, he is greeted by the newest Stark in Lady Catelyn’s arms, Arya. Lord Stark brings new guests to Winterfell, Theon Greyjoy, who is eleven and a hostage and a knight from the Kingsguard, Ser Barristan Selmy. 

At the feast of Lord Stark’s return, Mouse plays a song, Alysanne. It is sad and sweet. The hall is full of laughter and all cheer and clap for her when she is done. Jon has learned a song as well. Before the feast, he asked his father if he could play it. Lord Eddard tells him he does not think his sons should play the harp. Jon never touches a harp again.


	3. Chapter 3

When Mouse is ten, Robb is seven and Jon is seven, Ser Barristan Selmy stays with them for almost two moons. He spends most of his time with Lord Stark and Rodrik Cassel, looking at walls and defenses. She understands that there have been threats made to the King, threats that she will be kidnapped from Winterfell, and married to some Lord who wants the throne for himself. She wonders if her Uncle Viserys has gotten armies from Essos and comes to claim her. Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, has personally come himself to check the walls and bring more men. 

 

She decides she likes Ser Barristan very much. He is all gruff and steel, but around her he softens. He laughs out loud the first time he sees her fight. At first, her feelings are hurt, but then he shows her a better way to hold the sword and all is forgiven. 

Sometimes, he will come to the yard or the nursery to talk to them. They all want to hear his stories of the War of the Ninepenny Kings, Maelys Blackfyre, Duskendale and his daring rescue of the King. Sometimes, he will go for walks with her, silent and thoughtful. He is the first person she has ever met who actually knew her parents and she wants to talk about them. Robb and Jon are enamored with his stories and now think of nothing else, except knights.

One afternoon, they are in the godswood walking and she builds her courage up and asks, “Ser, I do not want to be discourteous or unpleasant but do you remember my parents? I know so little about them.” 

“I remember your mother when she came to the capitol to be married. Elia was little and dark, but she lit up a room with her smile. Her laugh was contagious and she filled Dragonstone with music, and as much light as she could. Wherever she went, there was music and dancing. In fact, many thought that she would lighten your father’s mood. The day they married the whole city threw white flowers and women weeped at her beauty. Once, she was waylaid by the Kingswood Brotherhood and the band let her keep the ring your father bought her for a kiss. She gladly gave the kiss to keep the token of your father’s love. Often, she would tell the tale.”

“My father? Was he a man given to dark moods like the Mad King?” 

“Your father was given to a melancholy but he was nothing like his father. He was not given to madness. Many thought that the melancholy was because he was born at the Great Tragedy of Summerhall. HIs grandfather, his uncles, the Lord Commander and King’s best friend, all perished under the fires of Summerhall the night he was born. We would sometimes go there so he could sleep under the stars in the ruined halls of Summerhall.” 

“He was a good fighter, quick and graceful, and a good friend. There were many friends to Prince Rhaegar. He inspired men to be better and to fight beside him. He loved you very much and took you to King’s Landing when your mother was too sick to go. He held you with pride before court and the Iron Throne, handing you to his father, as his first child. Sometimes, he would go into the city with his harp and sing for people passing. The small folk loved him and had set their hopes in him.”

This is the first time she has talked with someone who has known her father, not on sight but actually knew him. She takes his arm again to continue their walk. She wants to ask him why Rhaegar would throw everything away for a war on a woman who was not his. She wants to ask but does not want to be impolite. He speaks so kindly of her father. In all her years, she has never heard as many words about her mother, as he has spoken in the past few minutes. 

Impetuously she asks the question, “Ser, if what you say is true, why would such an honorable man kidnap and rape Lord Stark’s sister.”

He looks at her and smiles gently. “Rhaenys, how old are you?”

“I am ten, ser.” She stands up as straight as she can to appear older.

“Where did you learn such words? What would Lady Catelyn say or your Septa?”

“I am sorry. I did not mean to be discourteous or unpleasant. I do know what kidnap means. Rape is something unpleasant and only happens to women. I am not entirely sure what it means.. But more importantly, ser, how can my father be both men? How could he be all you say he was and also, all the things I have heard the men say of him?”

“Perhaps, those who win the war get to tell the story. I do not know the whole tale of Rhaegar and Lyanna but I do know that Rhaegar loved Lyanna and I do not think he forced her in anyway. I am sure our King and Lord Stark might disagree but they did not know Rhaegar.” 

 

She says nothing of their conversation, but thinks of it often.

The day he rides away, he tells her that she might look like her mother, but that she is a Targaryen and he will be glad to serve her when she is Queen. As he rides away, she feels how much she misses him already.

Ser Rodrik is still teaching Rhaenys to spar and fight. Lady Catelyn frowns upon it, but Lord Stark says she is like his sister, raised around boys she picks up their play. He teases Lady Catelyn and the other children at dinner. “Her parents named her well and true. I am sure they are glad to see a sword in her hand.”   
Mouse wonders why her father named her Rhaenys, but she thinks he might not have been too upset to see a sword in her hand. Sometimes in the mirror, she wishes she had silver hair and purple eyes. She has dreams of waking and seeing herself changed in the night, silver instead of the black tresses, purple instead of the black.   
Theon Greyjoy is twelve and in Mouse’s opinion an ass. He is cocky and self assured and constantly teasing Jon and Mouse. He is watching her spar with Jon. Ser Rodrik once let her spar with Theon and she had angry bruises for over a week. He said he won’t let him spar with her again. “Not until we teach you a few tricks, Mouse.” He says with a twinkle in his smile. 

Jon and Robb are caught up in stories of the Kingsguard and knights. They have been playing in the snows, picking titles and defending forts with wooden swords. “Come play. You can be Visenya or Nymeria.”  
“I promised Lady Catelyn that I would sit with Septa and work on my embroidery. If I hurry, I will come back out and play.” 

Theon catches her in the hallway near the solar. He grabs her arm and pulls it hard, so she can’t run. He is too close to her and his voice drips rancor. “You know why Lord Stark calls you Mouse. Because he found you hiding under your father’s bed, you were hiding from Lannister men who wanted to kill you. You had seen your mother’s rape and murder and were mute for six months.” 

She looks in his eyes to see if he is lying to her. How does Theon know so much about this and she know so little? Lord and Lady Stark never speak of how she came to them in Winterfell. 

“How do you know?” 

“Are you as stupid as a Mouse? Everyone knows.. Your brother was pulled from your mother’s arms and they dashed his brains against the wall. Then Gregor Clegane raped and murdered your mother. His hands still had your brothers brains and blood, as he raped her. Lord Stark’s men came upon that and could not stomach the scene. Lucky for you, they killed the Mountain or he would have dashed you against a wall.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Ned Stark pulled you out from under the bed, but Jaime Lannister kept you safe. If Jaime Lannister hadn’t have stood by you, his father would have run you through a hundred times … Kingslayer.. the man who killed your Grandfather who he had sworn to protect.. I think I know why King Robert keeps you locked away in Winterfell. You are kept stupid up here and locked away. No one can rescue you. You are too far away and they forgot about you. You are a stupid little caged mouse and so am I now. I won't be like you. The Starks aren't your family. They are your prison guards.”

Mouse grabs her arm and runs down the hall to Maester Luwin’s rooms. He finds her there crying and brings her in. She asks him if what he said is true. He calms her down but he does not lie to her. When she is composed, he finds Lord Stark. Theon receives the only spanking he will get from Lord Stark, and later apologies to Rhaenys for how he misspoke. She sees the anger in his eyes and knows in her child heart, he will hold on to his anger for a long time.

Jon sees it, too. She wonders how he can be so observant and wonders how similar he is to his father. She knows Lord Stark would also not trust Theon’s apology, even as Robb goes off to play games and swords with him. Jon comes up to her and holds her hand . “He won’t ever hurt you. Not while I am in Winterfell. Rhaenys, I promise you. He won’t hurt any of you, not while I am here.”

Even though he is younger than her, she squeezes his hand and looks in his dark eyes. “I know, Jon.” 

A few weeks after this, the pox hits Winterfell. Old people and children get hit the hardest. Some of the weakest even die from it.

Robb get a cough and some spots, but Jon gets terribly ill. His fever gets so hot that they have to use the summer snow to cool him down. He cries for his mother and he cries for his father. Lord Eddard stays with him, until he cannot bear looking at the small sweating child and leaves the room to go to the godswood. 

Jon has always been smaller than Robb. In his bed with no shirt, he looks smaller than seven. His messy curls plastered to his face, wet with sweat. He starts shaking uncontrollably, when Septa Mordane pushes her out of the room. None of the children are allowed to go in the room for fear that they might get ill. That night the children eat dinner alone with Old Nan in the nursery.

Septa Mordane makes her go to the little sept to pray to the Seven, as she is ten and almost a lady. In the candlelight, she begins her prayers. She is interrupted by Lady Catelyn who comes in to sit in front of the Mother. Lady Catelyn’s are red rimmed and she has been weeping. Her braid is unkempt and her dress is mud-stained, In her hands, she is making a prayer wheel. “My lady, can I help you? If it is to help Jon I would gladly do it.” 

“No.. it must be me and me alone. You see a mother can only make this for their children. “

“Is someone else sick?” Rhaenys worries about the baby Arya.

“No, just Jon. But I fear for him. I fear for his safety.” 

Rhaenys continues praying in the candles.They sit this way for some time with Rhaenys praying and Lady Stark making the prayer wheel and mumbling to herself. Lady Stark breaks the silence of Rhaenys’ prayers by crying. She looks pale and disoriented and says they must return to Jon’s bed.

Rhaenys has never seen someone as distraught as Lady Catelyn. She does not try to reason with her and tell her that Maester Luwin and Septa Mordane said the children are not allowed in the room. Lady Catelyn reminds her of a mad woman in all the stories and she does not think she would listen to her even if she spoke. 

Lady Catelyn clutches her hand, running barefoot through the stone halls of Winterfell. When they get to Jon's room, Septa Mordane is there praying for his safe passage to the arms of the Mother. Lady Catelyn kicks her out screaming that he will not be going to the Mother anytime soon. Lady Stark takes his small hand in hers as she wipes Jon’s forehead. “Don't listen to her. You belong here. Jon, you are a Stark and you belong here at Winterfell. Forgive me, I have been so unkind to you. It was not your fault.”   
Jon starts shaking uncontrollably and Lady Catelyn tries to restrain him, She is all tears and snot, her normal tidy appearance ruined  
Lady Catelyn starts to cry..”It is my fault. My fault.”

Rhaenys holds her hand and hands her handkerchief. “No my lady. It is just a sickness. No one is too blame.” 

“Mouse, Ned’s little Mouse. You and Jon were both here the day I came home to Winterfell with Robb.You were so small and scared of everything and everyone except for Jon and Ned. I remember Old Nan kept him in a basket and you would stand by it the whole time and sing to him a lullaby in High Valyrian, do you remember?”

“No,” she said.

“Nan had told me you had just started speaking when Ned had returned with the baby. Maester Luwin said it was the trauma you had witnessed that had silenced you. Watching your mother and brother being murdered in King’s Landing. You had just turned four and you were so pretty. I had thought that I could help mother you since you were so little and so lost.

I often wondered if it was a lullaby your grandmother, the Queen, taught you. I only knew bits and pieces of it. You would never leave him. I tried to win you from him with dolls, and stuffed animals made of yarn and fabric, dresses, sweets but you only ever wanted him. And that song you would sing. 

One day, I thought I could win you over by switching Jon for Robb. After all, what is one baby compared to another? When I reached for Jon, you almost bit me trying to move you from that basket.” 

She laughs but it sounds sad, “You said he was yours. Your baby. Your baby brother. And you wouldn’t leave him. Maester Luwin convinced me to stop. He said that you had witnessed their death and it was how you were grieving. He said you had turned your dead baby brother into Jon. I cried for all that you lost and Ned called me soft hearted. Ned came down to the nursery and took you in his lap and told you that Jon was not your baby, that he was Ned’s. That you must stop singing him songs in Valyrian and you must stop saying he was your brother. Your brother, Aegon, was dead. I begged him not too. But he would not be swayed. You were so young, so alone. 

Ned was wrong.. I was never soft hearted. I have been the most hard hearted against this child, who is motherless. When in fact, he has done nothing wrong…”

Lady Catelyn might be mad and grieving, but Rhaenys can’t take her eyes from her. No one ever tells her this much about when she first came. She has always felt apart from her, as if she was against her. To hear her speak of it, Lady Stark has only wanted to be kind to her.  
Lady Catelyn blows her nose in the handkerchief, “I promise you and the Seven if he is healed I will change. I will treat him kindly. I will raise him as my own son and he will be called Stark.We will have Lord Stark legitimize him. Pray now that the gods hear us.“

They kneel by Jon’s feverish body and they pray to the Mother. They pray until Rhaenys knees hurt and the words lose meaning and become faraway sounds. They pray until she falls asleep. 

In the morning, the fever has broken. Jon begins to get better. 

Lady Catelyn is relieved and when she returns to his bedside, she is tidy, braid neat and lovely. Rhaenys waits for her to tell Lord Stark about her change of heart, to have him named Stark and to love him like her own. As soon as Jon is able to sit up, Lady Catelyn never goes back to his room. Weeks pass. Lady Catelyn's heart seems stonier to Jon than before he was sick.

Rhaenys catches her alone one afternoon, praying. “I know what you said and I will never forget your promise. You are a liar. I am just a girl, but one day I will be the Queen and I will have the power to reward the just and punish the wicked. More importantly, Lady Stark, you broke your promise to the Seven and they will make sure you will be punished for lying to them.”

She smiles as sweetly as she can and walks to the yard. Her heart is beating fast. She is sure that she will be spanked for her insolence. She waits for Lord Stark or Septa Mordane. Neither ever come.


	4. Chapter 4

When Mouse is thirteen, Robb is ten, Jon is ten, they get a raven that the King is allowing Prince Oberyn Martell to come visit his niece in Winterfell. Mouse feels excited and finds herself too excited to sleep or eat. Lady Catelyn tells her that she must eat and sleep or she will get sick. Sansa is seven and she is excited, as well. The idea of a Dornish prince coming to stay with them is so very exciting. Mouse embroiders her Uncle a token with the Martell sigil. 

They spend days preparing in Winterfell. She has never met him in person, though she has written to him numerous times and he always sends the best presents. He is bringing his paramour, Ellaria Sand, and some of his daughters. Lord Eddard seems uncomfortable with the arrangement. 

Rhaenys knows that Oberyn will keep his retinue small. If it is too large, it could mean that he has come to steal her and take her down to Sunspear. Lord Stark will not let him take her and blood will be spilled. She hears the guards and the women speak of it in the kitchens. Septa Mordane prays for their safety. Mouse prays in the Godswood and lights a candle to the Maiden in the small sept to keep both her families safe. She prays this is just a visit and not a kidnapping, or would it be a rescue attempt?   
Lady Catelyn has brushed Mouse’s hair over a hundred times. She thinks how beautiful it looks all black and thick, like water, down in the Northern fashion. Lady Catelyn had the dress made of yellow silk and it is lovely. She doesn’t want to wear it, for fear it will get dirty in the yard, when they hear the calls from the yard that the Martells have arrived. 

Lord Eddard Stark has his family in the yard, Robb to his right, then Sansa, who is holding Arya’s hand. Lady Catelyn is to the left of Lord Stark, holding Bran. Lady Catelyn puts Rhaenys to her left. Jon and Theon are in the second row, behind Robb and Sansa. 

They ride in on black steeds with black and red manes, braided with yellow and red silk, with banners in colors so bright they mimic the sun and summer. She dreams of the hot sun and the burning sands where her mother played, and when she sees them, she is all smiles.They come with wagons full of barrels and crates with lemons soaked in sugar and wine, oranges, fire plums, peppers, chocolate, tea, spices, herbs, books, and silk. One whole wagon was filled with just Dornish wine, wheelhouses and wagons full of minstrels, dancers, a theater troupe, and her family 

Oberyn dismounts, like a golden god, all dark and gilded. In a few seconds, he has crossed the yard and she is swinging in his arms. “You look so much like Elia. It is like seeing her after all these years”. He hugs her, like she is strong and will not break, regardless of how strong he squeezes her. Mouse knows she has never been squeezed like that in her entire life. He kisses her on both cheeks. Her Uncle Oberyn has tears in his eyes and he hugs her a third time. He takes her by the hand as two women and a girl step out of the wheel house and looks at Mouse with his burning black eyes, as if it is just him and her, not a yard full of people staring at them to introduce them. “This is my paramour Ellaria Sand.. and my daughters, Tyene Sand and Sarella Sand.” 

They each hug and kiss her on both cheeks. Ellaria is dark and proud, not beautiful, but striking. Tyene has blonde hair and blue eyes, the prettiest girl with a face like the Maiden. Sarella was about her age and her height. She had brown skin and warm intelligent eyes that looked just like her father’s. Her hair was curly and black. They were all smiles and crossed the yard, like she had been with them her entire life, not just met them.   
Oberyn is walking arm in arm with his niece, looking in her eyes, smiling. He crosses the yard to shake the hand of Ned Stark, “Forgive me. I had not seen my niece in many years. She is the image of Elia. I have forgotten my courtesies in my joy.”   
He shakes his hand firmly. Oberyn puts his hand on top of Ned Stark’s, as he shakes it. “House Martell is in your debt, ser. Thank you.”  
“No need for thanks. I am not a knight, no need to call me ser. Rhaenys is always welcome at Winterfell. She has brought us only joy and pride, since she has been our ward.”

Mouse is so delighted. Oberyn and Ellaria have her introduce them to each one of the Stark children. Oberyn is so charming and talks to each child, shaking Robb’s hand, commenting on how lovely Sansa Stark is and how he hears directly from Arya that she is learning to use a sword like his niece Rhaenys.   
When she introduces him to Jon, he smiles, like he had been looking for him all along. Rhaenys thinks on this why would her Uncle be looking for Jon. “Jon Snow. I have heard you might be a Sand... ”

At this sentence, she feels the anger from Lord Stark. It is tangible and crackles in the air around him, Rhaenys tries to soothe the anger she feels, “Uncle, we do not speak of Jon’s mother. It upsets Lady Stark.”

Jon looks from his father to her Uncle, quizzically and naturally defensive, but curious about this information. Lord Stark seems furious and yet his face is stern and unreadable. Ellaria gently smiles, softly hushing her man. Prince Oberyn apologies with great flourish, kissing Lady Catelyn’s soft hand and making her blush, “I mean no offense, my Lady. I am unfamiliar with the customs of the North.” 

Ellaria takes Jon’s hand in both of hers and tells him, “You are a Snow and I am a Sand, as our my children. We are brother and sister in the world, bastards together.”

She looks in Jon’s eyes and Rhaenys is slightly uncomfortable with the intimacy of the gesture. Ellaria touches his face, like a mother might and whispers something to him that only he can hear. Jon looks at Ellaria in such a way that if she told him to follow her to Dorne, he would leave and never look back at any of them. Mouse wonders, if he needs to be touched more by a mother. She says a silent prayer to the Mother to soften Lady Catelyn’s heart and remember her promise. 

Ellaria breaks the uncomfortable silence with her rich musical laugh and says, “You are lucky to have such beautiful children. Lord Stark, your boys will be handsome men.” 

Oberyn laughs along, teasing his squire, Daemon Sand, who is so handsome. “Daemon is getting old. I may have need for a new squire in a few years, Jon Snow and you seem like Dorne would suit you. If you would like to come to Dorne... ” 

The Dornish party all laugh, rich and contagious, though Rhaenys feels like she doesn’t understand the joke.  
Lady Catelyn looks at Ellaria’s hair, her low cut dress, her manners and is disapproving. Ellaria is so polite, she comments on how beautiful Lady Catelyn’s red hair is. Mouse knows that Lady Catelyn did not think it right that Oberyn and Ellaria sleep in the same room at Winterfell but Lord Stark eased her worries. “The Dornish are different than we, but it is fine. Rhaenys will rule the entire realm. She will need to know how to rule over different peoples fairly.”

The Martells are so different than anything she has ever known in Winterfell.

 

While they are in the yard, he gives her a lovely gift, a sand steed, all black. Mouse looks at this lovely beast, all muscle and sleek shining mane, braided with gold and red and black thread and bells. Rhaenys feels the tears come to her eyes. “He is too beautiful, too precious. My lord, I have no gift for you that could compare.”   
Oberyn looks at her. “Rhaenys, you are my gift. Everyday.”  
Rhaenys climbs on the horse and rides him around the yard. She thinks to herself how strong she feels and how she would ride all day if she could. Ned looks wistful at her riding in the yard. Theon, Robb, and Jon are jealous of her beautiful gift. 

Proudly, she says, “I want to name him Sunspear.” 

That night they have a feast. There is dancing, music, acrobats. She plays her harp for the hall and Oberyn stands and claps for her. There is wine and Mouse is able to drink as much as she likes. She dances with her Uncle, his squire Daemon Sand, Robb, Jon, even Theon. Lastly, she dances with Lord Stark. He never really dances but tonight he has danced with Ellaria, Lady Catelyn, Tyene, and Sansa. 

Oberyn has unlimited energy and curiosity. He wakes in the morning and the days are all filled with adventure, picnics and riding in the wolfswood, walks in the godswood so he can look at the weirwood trees, while Sarella and him look at the bark and leaves. He shows Robb and Jon the best branches to climb and the proper way to fight with a spear. He regales them of stories at night with his time in the Free Cities, creating a sellsword company, and other tales of misadventure. The halls are always filled with laughing, there is always music and dancing at night.

Oberyn walks with her a great deal. On the third morning, they have a light summer snow. He seems amazed at it. “What a place you live in? Where it snows in summer…”   
Sarella loves Winterfell. She is always in the library reading or talking to Maester Luwin about the heat in the walls. Oberyn and Sarella do the engineering and numbers in their head like it is a secret language only father and daughter understand. When it snows outside, Oberyn gets all the children outside to build a snow wall and have a snowball fight. Mouse wants to tell him that summer snows last rarely past noon, but by noon, Oberyn is onto a new adventure or task. 

 

Oberyn takes her to the library almost every day. He shows her the books she will need and the books she will need to read about her history, about . “When you are Queen in King’s Landing, I will come to King’s Landing and sit on the Small Council. I will not leave you alone in that cesspool. I will bring Daemon and he can be your guard. You will be protected. But I must teach you a few things in case..”

“We don’t have much time and I doubt they will let me see you before you are in King’s Landing and married. Trust no one. Not even Lord Stark. I think he will try to protect you, but he will be here in Winterfell. I brought some simple recipes, uncomplicated and effective…”  
He teaches her what he knows and what she can learn quickly. He has a chest brought up to the room. It is orange and gold, painted and carded with gilded suns and red flames. When she opens it, it is filled with books of Rhoynish poetry, history and even some books on magic, which Lady Catelyn would disapprove of a great deal.. He has her lift out all the books. In the bottom is a small velvet bag that is stitched with a red dragon with flashing black stones for eyes.

Uncle Oberyn commands to her, ”Open it .”

Inside the bag is a beautiful maiden’s cloak with rubies, topaz, and gold thread. A burnt red sun and a spear through it. It is so fine and spectacular. She knows immediately what it is. “This is Mother’s maiden cloak.”  
He smiles softly, and it seems more sad than a smile should. “Yes, I took it back to Dorne by accident and I didn’t find it in my things until I returned to Sunspear years later. I know you won’t ever use it, but I thought you might like it to keep.”

At the bottom of the chest, there is a secret compartment there are ten vials of poison. Her Uncle shows her each vial and tells her what each one does. One to take away pain, one to make someone forget, one to sleep. one to make someone’s bowels loosen, one to make someone’s blood burn…

He speaks softly to her, “They say that poison is a woman’s weapon, so you must use it. Remember always, it is effective, and as painful or as quick as you need.”

She asks him to teach her to make a love potion, and he laughs. “You need know potions to make men love you. Look at you.” 

So, as not to raise too much suspicion of what Oberyn might be doing with Rhaenys, sometimes he sends Tyene and Sarella to teach her. They pretend to gossip and giggle and do needlework, but Tyene teaches her all she needs. Sarella bores quickly like her father and desires to be in the library, or in the glasshouse, or in the crypts with Jon looking at the dead Kings of Winter and their stone wolves. 

Tyene is lovely, so lovely that she made Rhaenys feel small and awkward beside her. Tyene is never cruel or intentionally hurtful. She is always encouraging her and telling her how clever she is. On one of the last days, she teaches Rhaenys how to make moon tea. 

Tyene speaks carefully as she takes a handful of this, a pinch of this. “ Moon tea. It is if you don’t want to conceive. It is very important for a lady to know, especially because you can never trust anyone in King’s Landing. However, you must know to space out your children for their health and yours. In case, you take after your mother whose health was ruined after her son.” 

Rhaenys looks at her, slightly scandalized that there is such a thing as moon tea and even more scandalized that she speaks of sex so lightly. Tyene looks at her. “You do know how babies are made, don’t you?. “

Mouse feels her face redden. “Lady Catelyn says it happens when your husband sleeps in the same bed with you.”

“Nonsense! A woman can get pregnant, whether or not he is your husband. It also has nothing to do with sleep. A woman gets pregnant when a man sticks his cock in her.” 

Tyene continues, “Shut your mouth, cousin. You don’t want to catch flies. I am sure you have seen dogs rut or horses or pigs. Well, people do it, just like they do it. Hopefully, with more skill…”  
Rhaenys could see her uncle in Tyene’s wicked smile and her intelligent eyes. 

She goes on, “You can choose if you want a baby or not. Do not let these Northerners fill your head with shame and guilt. Sex is for pleasure and love. It makes us feel good and strong. We are made to have sex. Men or women, it does not matter. Together or separate. You are Dornish.” 

Tyene tells her of how she bedded Theon in the Godswood during the feast and every night since the first. “He is good. He knows how to use his mouth and his cock, but Damon could teach him a thing or two.”   
Rhaenys has never had such a conversation before in her life. She imagines Theon rutting like a dog against her beautiful cousin. To hear Tyene speak, Theon is a good lover, though Rhaenys cannot imagine that to be true. Tyene laughs and Rhaenys laughs, in spite of herself. Tyene lifts the hot cup and toast her “Cheers..” and drinks the whole thing in one gulp.

Rhaenys feels a warmth in her heart when she is near Tyene, like she is strong, confident, and beautiful. It feels, like she is a real princess, and they are at court in King’s Landing, not at lonely, boring Winterfell, where nothing exciting ever happens. 

“Will you come be my attendant when I go to King’s Landing?” Rhaenys says, hesitantly.

“Really, Rhaenys?” 

“Oh yes.. It would be lovely to have family with me.”

“Of course, I will come and be with you the whole time.” 

On the last night, during dinner, Uncle Oberyn speaks, while he looks down the table at Jon. Normally, Lady Catelyn would not let Jon sit with them at meals with company, but since it might insult them, Jon was able to eat with them every night. “Lord Stark, I like your family, and even though you live in a most uncomfortable place, it is a place where my sister’s daughter has been given safety and a home. She might be safer in Dorne but I can see, if that is not possible, the North has been a good home to her. She has been well cared for and I appreciate this. I am glad you have let all your children feast with us. Jon is a good boy and I think I find him most appealing. I wonder why you don’t foster the boy. I would gladly take him to the Sunspear. Itb would help me repay you for your generosity.”

Ned has a small sip of wine and says, “I couldn’t foster him so far, but I appreciate your offer.” 

“If you change your mind, Dorne is a kind place to bastards.”

When Oberyn leaves, she weeps for days. When she comes out of her room finally, she asks the family to no longer call her mouse, but instead call her Rhaenys. 

A week later, she flowers. Lady Catelyn comes to talk to her about how children are made and a raven goes to King’s Landing saying how Rhaenys Targaryen is ready to be wedded.


	5. Chapter 5

When Rhaenys is fifteen, Robb is twelve, and Jon is twelve. she feels like she has spent her whole life tied to a child that she has never met, half a world away. Once a year, she writes him a formal letter on his name day, and once a year, she receives one from her betrothed on her name day. Joffrey Baratheon is 9 years old.  
In another life, she would be looking at getting married to someone closer to her age, a royal princess. In this world, her brother, Aegon is fourteen and almost a man. Silver-haired and purple eyed Aegon will be king, after their father, Rhaegar I. It is a sweet dream world that Rhaenys doesn’t let herself think on often. It is a childish fantasy. She is a pawn in a dynastic war and once she is married, it will be settled. There is no luxury of choice or want. 

She has been having dreams, terrible and vivid dreams. Sometimes, she thinks she is destined for madness, like her grandfather with these dreams as proof. She wishes she could write her Uncle Oberyn and tell him about her dreams, but how could she write them down, on paper. It could fall into the wrong hands and rumors would fly around the Seven Kingdoms about her dreams, her impending madness. 

Rhaenys wakes one night, heart racing and fear covering her body. Shutting her eyes tight, she is certain to see that smiling stag with sharpened teeth covered in blood, turning purple from her dreams. It is an ill omen. These dreams that come to her at night. She opens one eye and then the other. Looking over at the bed next to her, Sansa sleeps peaceful.   
Softly, Rhaenys walks in the hall. Last year, they moved Jon and Robb to their own room. Now, Bran and Arya sleep in the nursery, as will the new baby when he comes. She moves silently down the hall. She opens their door, without knocking, and peeks in. She walks in the room. Rhaenys, standing in a stream of moonlight, realizing she can’t just wake up Robb and Jon because she had a bad dream. After all, she is not Arya, a girl of six. 

“Rhae.”   
She hears Jon’s voice and her eyes grow accustomed to the darkness. He is sitting up in his bed, looking at her. 

“Jon..” 

“You.. I thought you were a dream,” he says, rubbing his eyes. She runs across the room and climbs in his bed, like they were children. He moves over to accommodate her. 

“What are you doing here? It’s late.”   
“I have been having terrible dreams. I dream all the time.” She starts telling him all the dreams that she can unwind from her head into words.

She tells them to Jon.. Dreams that Lady Catelyn will have a boy and he will have curly hair.. of a giant flood that sinks Winterfell in blood and misery, dreams of the Night’s Watch and Uncle Benjen haunting the North-Beyond-The-Wall, dreams of a stag killing wolf pups, trampling them and of green fire that melts rock and burns over water. She dreams of a silver haired man who holds a baby wrapped in a black velvet wrap, dreams of Bran flying, of Robb with the head of a wolf, dead on a horse, of a silver haired girl eating the heart of a horse veiled in darkness, of sansa trapped in a cage and forced to sing like a little bird, of arya with a faces that always changing. She dreams of Winterfell burning and Northern men skinless and bloodied in the yard at Winterfell.

He tells her that he too has been having bad dreams, but that he has the same bad dream, a dream of an empty Winterfell. In his dream, he runs from room to room calling for anyone and all he hears is the echo of his own voice. He runs to the yard and there is no one, to the stables and there is only bones. How he gets to the crypts, dark and foreboding, and he knows he must go below and find what he needs to but he is terrified. He woke this night to find her in his room. 

She laughs, “I guess we are both crazy.”

She closes her eyes and sleeps comes suddenly. When she wakes, Jon is next to her, warm and sleepy. Morning is bright and she can hear sounds all around her. She wakes to Lord Eddard Stark, staring at her with serious eyes.

“Mouse?”

“Lord Stark. I am sorry. I have been having bad dreams, like when I was young. I just came here to sleep with Robb or Jon and quiet my nerves, like when we were younger.”

He helps her to her feet. Jon is awake now, flushed and embarrassed. 

“You are both way too old to be sleeping together.”

“I know, my Lord. It was my fault. Jon was sleeping.” The lie is easy and slips past her lips without hesitation.

Ned looked at his son and back at Rhaenys. 

“Let me walk with you, Mouse.”

They are walking down the hallway, when he asks. “What are your dreams?”

“I dream that Lady Stark will have a boy, but I think it will be her last. I dream of a giant flood covering Winterfell and the yard is full of drowned bodies. I dream of Jon, all in black, stabbed twenty times, bleeding into the snow and blue, whispering a name. I dream of an army of Others coming to kill us. The one I am terrified of is a giant stag who comes and has a mouth of serpent teeth. “

He looks at her, grey eyes into black. “You are nervous of your wedding to the Prince.”

“No, my Lord.”

He smiles. “ You wouldn’t be the first girl to have no desire to marry her betrothed. Why should you? You barely know him. He will grow from a boy. Lady Catelyn and I were mostly strangers when we were married.”

“She was your brother’s betrothed.” Rhaenys knew the story. This story, like almost every story in Winterfell, spoke of tragedy at her family’s hands. When her father had stolen Lyanna, Lord Eddard’s sister, his brother, Brandon rode to King’s Landing and Rhaenys’ grandfather, King Aerys, had him killed while their father burned in wildfire. 

“Yes. She was going to marry Brandon. But we both did our duty, which was the best for the North and Riverlands. It was awkward in the beginning but kindness and patience goes a very long way in the beginning.” 

“Lord Stark?”  
“Yes, Mouse.”  
“What would happen if I didn’t marry the prince?”  
“Rhaenys, you must. You were born to help the Seven Kingdoms. This is your role. Do not speak such. You are a lady grown, no longer a child. Promise me you will do your duty.” 

“I promise…”

 

The next week, Lady Catelyn interrupts Septa Mordane teaching the girls embroidery. She comes in the room with a package wrapped in linen. She unravels the package on the table and a very fine piece of black velvet is left on the table, rich in texture.

“I thought we could have a project, just the ladies of the family.” She smiles in a playful way that Rhaenys wished she would see more. 

Arya rolls her eyes and huffs though she keeps touching the fabric. Lady Catelyn gently takes her hands from the fabric. “Arya please stop. We don’t want to get it dirty…”

“But it’s black!”

“Still”

Lady Catelyn is pregnant again. The baby will come in a month or so. Sansa wants a sister. She has been praying to the Mother to give her a gentle sister, who she can understand and who will understand her. Rhaenys has been having dreams of a curly headed boy and knows that it will be a boy and Lady Catelyn will have no more children. She does not tell anyone. Her dreams of Lady Catelyn are covered in blood and fury, screaming Robb’s name. She goes with Sansa every day to light a candle and pray Lady Catelyn is safe through the birth. 

“What Mother? What can we do as a family?” Sansa looks at Rhaenys with knowing eyes, like they are the adults and Arya the child.  
“I thought we could embroider Rhaenys her maiden’s cloak. I know it's not as fine as if we sent it to Oldtown or King’s Landing, but in the Riverlands it is not uncommon, for a lady’s mother to help her stitch her cloak. In fact, aunts, cousins, sisters, septas, nurses all will put a stitch in to help wish the lady well on her wedding day.” 

Rhaenys smiled. “Thank you, my lady.”

“I know I am not your mother but I have raised you since you were so small. I am sure no one would find offense in this. After we are done, Rhaenys, we can make a maiden’s cloak for Sansa. After all, you are all getting older.” 

Sansa squealed with excitement. They spent the rest of the day figuring out the pattern and dimensions. 

A month later, Lady Catelyn goes to the birthing bed. It is a long birth and Lord Eddard has his closest bannermen and household in the great hall. Theon, Rhaenys, Robb, and Jon are too old to be put to bed and too young to sit in the main hall and be taken seriously. Rhaenys thinks to herself that Theon could probably stay in the hall.

She wondered when he would go back to the Pyke. When would King Robert allow him to return to his people and his home. Another year or two.. Sometimes she got the feeling, that Robert left Theon in Winterfell, so he wouldn’t have to see him or do anything about him. She felt the same about herself. In many ways, they were both thorns in the side of the King, so he left them in the North, forgotten and useless.  
They are drinking Dornish wine looking at the stars in the godswood. Jon has not touched the wine, but she, Theon, and Robb are drinking swig for swig. It has turned into a contest of sorts. Theon is bragging about the Ironborn and how they can hold enormous amounts of liquor. “That is why they call him the Drowned God.”  
They all giggle over this proclamation.

“I am a Targaryen. We are known for debauchery. Aegon the Unworthy was known for whores and wine. Daeron Targaryen, the brother to my great, great grandfather, another huge drunk. Even old Aerys II in his day, was all wine, and women.. I have you beat Greyjoy.”

Robb is laughing on the ground.

She looks at Robb. “Do you need some water? I think the young wolf is drunk.”

Theon and her laugh together. She feels what youth must feel like for some, carefree and full of potential, anything could happen. Rhaenys decides she must get drunk more often. 

She kisses Theon on a dare. Rhaenys doesn’t even know whether she brought it up or if he did. Theon kisses her and it is soft and tender, cocky and self assured. She has been thinking of the story Tyene told her and has wondered what his kiss might feel like. She wraps a hand on his neck and feels the soft hair on it. He pulls back from her and looks at her, whispering. His ares are soft and vulnerable, when he asks, “Is this your first kiss?”

She nods and he kisses her gently. The wine and the night make her feel careless. It feels like how Theon would kiss. He has a talent for kissing and his hand trails to fist her curls. The kiss gets more intense and he starts holding her face. It is soft and she feels heat from his body as he steps closer to press against her. Rhaenys opens her mouth to take a breath and Theon slips his tongue between her lips.

Mouse gasps at his forwardness and he pushes his tongue into her mouth. Rhaenys remembers herself, betrothed to the Prince, with Jon and Robb watching. He reaches his arm around her and pulls her close against him. She tries to push him off, but he continues kissing her. She wriggles against him to get him off her and he pushes against her to keep her still.

“Enough!!” She says, loudly. With her entire body, she pushes Theon off balance and he lands on the soft earth. Her face is flushed and her heart is racing. Robb and Jon look angry and ready to fight.

“You liked it.” Theon says as he brushes the dirt off his clothes. He saunters back toward the great hall.

“You are so stupid,” she calls after him. It is not a good insult, but she is not her most witty after she drinks. 

 

Robb, who is closer to her than Jon, breaks the silence first . “Rhae… I would kill him if he hurts you.   
She speaks, “A kiss is not a hurt. He is older and stronger than both of you. Do not fight him. What is a bruised ego next to your safety. “

Jon speaks, more to the darkness then to her, “Theon won’t always beat us sparring. Soon, we will catch up to his height. Soon, we will be men, as well.”

In the distance, they hear the bells of the sept ring and a cry “A boy born to House Stark!!”

Robb is climbing up from the ground on his hands and knees. Rhaenys takes one arm and Jon takes the other. They lift him to his feet. He smiles at them. “My brother and sister. What will I ever do without you?”

“I am not your sister, drunk wolf,” she says.

Robb looks at her. They are the same height. His crystal water blue eyes into her black ones. “No, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Rhaenys Targaryen.” 

“You are very drunk, Robb.”

“True, but that doesn’t make me blind. Isn’t she beautiful, Jon?”

Jon looks at her and in the torchlight she sees the truth on his face, more clearly than by the light of day. “Truly, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

Mouse is uncomfortable with the conversation, “Enough drunkenness and foolish boys.. We must away to your father to meet your new brother.”

Robb is still leaning against them, but he is looking at the stars.

Jon speaks to her, as if Robb is not there “You dreamed that the baby would be a boy.”

“It was a lucky guess. I had half a chance of being right.” 

They walk Robb to the Great Hall, where Theon already is and the roar of celebration can be heard for Rickon Stark.


	6. 296 AC part one

When Rhaenys is almost sixteen, she realizes that her life isn’t a series of namedays. After all, no one cares about an orphaned princess on the edge of the seven kingdoms and how old she is. She lives because of King Robert’s grace and Lord Stark’s honor. Her only family is far away in Dorne or even further in Essos. She is the last Targaryen in Westeros, the last of her House. Her grandfather was an evil man, full of madness and cruelty, which led to his and her whole House’s downfall. Her grandmother died in grief after multiple stillbirths and rapes and sorrows on the eve of the invasion where her dynasty would be overthrown. Her father died at the Trident, his chest caved caved in by Robert’s warhammer. She was left orphaned and alone.

Lord Stark never speaks of her family, her father, or his beloved sister. He forbids his family from doing so either. But the servants and the smallfolk from wintertown talk to her and the guards sometimes speak of such things. Lord Eddard has started taking her on trips to other noble houses of the North, which sometimes talk of such unpleasantries. 

She is very proud to be invited and she rides in front with Lord Stark, Robb, Theon and Jon. Not in a wheelhouse but on Sunspear, like a Northern lady or a Lord might. She likes to think of herself as a strong Targaryen woman, like her namesake or Visenya. 

Lord Stark has started to teach her how to rule and he has started to take her from Septa more and more. It makes her proud to see the jealous faces of the girls when Theon or Jon come for her to take her with them around Winterfell to listen to Maester Luwin and Jory Cassel give counsel. Lord Stark will often ask Robb questions to see if he might give the right answers. He has started asking Rhaenys and she tries to be wise and give good answers. She wants desperately to make him proud.

Lord Stark called for her to the godswood and when she arrived there, he dismissed Theon and his sons. She finds him in the godswood, polishing Ice, under the heart’s tree. He smiles and motions for her to sit next to him. “Mouse.. You are almost sixteen. Soon, you will be in King’s Landing and married to the Prince.”

“Yes, my Lord.” she says quietly, unsure where the conversation might go. 

“It is important that you surround yourself with good honest men and women who will help you lead and rule for the good of all. Wise counsel is better than those who flatter. Loyalty, honesty, and doing what is right even if it is hard are things you must remember. Winter is coming and you will need to have people you can trust to face the storm.”

She looks at him. His grey eyes seem intent on teaching her something. She wishes she could be clever or wise enough to understand what he wishes her to know. 

“Thirteen years ago, I helped overthrow your grandfather because he was a cruel King, given to madness. He surrounded himself with those who did not try to deter him from madness and would not speak out against him. When they finally did, he was too far gone from sanity and he burned them, too.  
When I arrived in King’s Landing, Lannister men had taken the city and invaded the Red Keep. Jaime Lannister had killed your grandfather, a man he had sworn to protect and his father had his men murder your brother, a helpless infant and your mother, an unarmed lady. I had my men kill the Lannister scum that murdered her and your brother. I looked the whole of Maegor’s Keep to find you and keep you safe and when I found you, I thanked the Old Gods for your safety.   
Some have said it was madness to overthrow the grandfather and fight so hard to keep you alive that day. It wasn’t madness. It was the honorable thing to do. I looked in the eyes of King Robert, my friend and foster brother and told him I would foster you and I would keep you. You were a child and had done no wrong. It was a hard thing to go against my King and my friend but it was the right thing. I have never regretted it, even though it has been difficult.”

She hugs him impulsively. Almost like when she was a child. “I cannot thank you enough. You have done more than fostered me and kept me safe. You have given me my family, Sansa Arya, Robb, Bran, Rickon and Jon. You have given me a home. “ 

The smell of him and how close he is makes her remember the dreams she has been having of Lord Stark. They are sweet dreams, where she is the Lady of Winterfell and he is her husband. Sometimes, they kiss. She feels herself blushing. She knows the dreams are unladylike and she hopes that they are not evidence of her Targaryen madness and perversity creeping into her. Thinking about the dreams with his smell makes her feel lightheaded and slightly wrong. 

“Mouse, you will be Queen someday. We must make sure you do not forget about the North. I have received word from Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King. Your Dornish uncles have petitioned the King for you to start your own household with attendants and personal guards, in order to prepare you for Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. It seems that Robert has agreed to it. I have received word that they are sending them to White Harbor and they should all be here for your sixteenth nameday. I am sure your uncles will have some fine Dornish ladies already selected to be your attendants but we must find you some Northerners who you can take to King’s Landing with you. To help you remember how to do the right and honorable thing, even when it is difficult. Northerners are a prickly lot but we will keep you on the right path.” 

I have sent for Manderly’s daughters to come and stay. See if you like them. If you do, perhaps they could attend to you when you are in King’s Landing. The Manderlys are good at politics and would do well as counsel.”

The idea of her receiving attendants, ladies in waiting and councillors makes her feel powerful and giddy at the same time. “Thank you, my Lord. Will Sansa be able to come and be one of my ladies and Arya too? I couldn’t imagine being without them.”

“We will have to get permission from my lady wife but I have never known her to refuse you anything, Mouse.”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

 

As she walks from the godswood, she thinks to herself. It is true that she forgets sometimes that the Stark children are not her brothers and sisters. She has been raised with Jon and Robb since they were small and they tease and fight and joke as if they were true family. Robb teases her that he will have to black anyones eye who hurts her and once when the Manderly’s came got in a fistfight with one of their pages for something they said about Rhaenys. He practices with her in the yard but she can tell he goes easier on her because she is a girl. She wishes she was stronger and a better swordswoman but she fears she will never be a true warrior.

Sansa is one of her closest friends and they share secrets and even though Sansa can be annoying with her copying all Rhaenys hairstyles and clothes. When night falls, she trust Sansa with her secrets and her dreams. Sometimes, Rhaenys will brush her beautiful long red hair and they will tell stories of how their future will be. When she goes to King’s Landing, Sansa will go with her and be her closest attendant, until she is married to some noble knight from a great House. 

She loves Bran and Rickon, like they are her little brothers. Arya might be her favorite of the little Starks because she is like no girl she has ever met. At nine, she is determined to shoot and fight like her brothers. She dreams of being a knight and fighting in great battles on a warhorse. Lady Catelyn sometimes implies that it is because Rhaenys has kept up her fighting lessons. Old Nan says that its wolfsblood in Arya that makes her wild and that she is like her Aunt Lyanna. Rhaenys thinks that Arya is wonderful and often will take her riding on Sunspear when they are able. 

However, she is closest to Jon. Sometimes, she thinks it is out of pity because how he is treated by the Lady of Winterfell. Sometimes, she is certain it is because they are both outsiders that have been raised in the Stark brood. She is not really certain why but sometimes, she feels he knows the secrets of her heart without her having to tell him. 

Recently, she has started feeling strangely around him and she knows she is wrong to feel such feelings. After all, she is betrothed to the Prince of Dragonstone and he is a bastard, a no one. Sometimes, when she dreams of Lord Stark, his face changes to Jon. She knows this is wrong. Sometimes, it is as if she is drawn to him like a moth to a candle. Of course, she has never acted on any of her feelings. It would be treason and would have a tragic and terrible end. 

Almost a month later, Lady Catelyn takes her aside with the paper still in her hand. She has a smile and kind eyes when she looks at Rhaenys, but the secret of her promise when Jon was sick lies between them uneasily. Sometimes, Rhaenys sees hesitation in Lady Catelyn’s eyes, a nervousness when she looks at her like Rhaenys might tell the secret. But not right now. Now Lady Stark is all joy, like a young girl. 

Lady Catelyn hugs her close. “I have written to King Robert to ask him if we could hold a feast for your sixteenth nameday, since there is an envoy from Dorne coming. Of course, only for the Northern Lords and bannermen. He has written back that we can…. Rhaenys, we need to plan a feast!”

Lady Catelyn throws herself in the job of preparing the castle, sending out invitations, preparing the feast, hiring entertainers from White Harbor. Lord Stark laughs to see his wife so excited about planning a party and teases her. Lady Catelyn tells stories of how her father Hoster Tully would throw a feast once a year and the bannermen would come to eat and drink in the halls of Riverrun. She seems to grow wistful and girlish. 

Her name day falls at the end of the year. Her parents were married early in 280 AC and she was born almost as 280 AC came to a close. Rhaenys remembers of the story Ser Barristan Selmy mentioned when her father brought her to be presented before the King and Queen, that Prince Rhaegar had referred to her as his present for the Year’s End.

The first person she tells all her secrets is Jon, but she does not run to tell him. Rhaenys is not insensitive or unfeeling and can not tell him about a feast in honor of her name day. Jon never has a name day, with treats and small gifts. Jon is thirteen and has never had any kind of celebration for his name day, not one that she can remember. She does not even think he knows when his name day is. 

Instead, she goes and finds Sansa and Jeyne Poole who are sitting with Wylla Manderly and Septa Mordane embroidering. She tells them of the good new and they squeal with excitement and laugh at the idea of a feast with dancing and all the Northern Lords coming.

A happy lucky accident, Rhaenys actually liked Wylla. Wylla knew all the histories of the North and most of the South too. She was a good dancer, better at needlepoint than Rhaenys, and she had a good voice to carry a tune. Sometimes, they would sing together, while Rhaenys played her harp. Wylla loved to read and would often be in the libraries while Rhaenys practiced in the yard. But they both loved to ride across the fields in through the forest. Wylla was honest and she was a good friend. Sansa and Jeyne would sometimes tease Arya for being ugly or the kennel boy for being smelly or slow, but Wylla had a kind heart and never laughed or teased anyone for being different. Rhaenys loved her for that as well. 

She told Wylla all her secrets, even the ones she had never told Sansa, like kissing Theon in the godswood or how her dreams sometimes came true. She told her the stories of how she could almost remember her mother or how she once heard the butcher kill a pig for dinner and she had nightmares for a week about her mother being murdered. She told her about when she was afraid she would crawl in bed with Robb or Jon and feel better. Wylla tells Rhaenys all her secrets, like how she secretly loves Robb or once she tricked her sister by putting a mouse in her shoe.

Wylla tells her the story of Jon Snow and his birth. She tells her the story of how Lady Ashara and Lord Eddard met and fell in love at the Tourney of Harrenhal and that they secretly made promises to each other to wed. Then, the War came and ruined their love and plans. After Lord Stark killed Ser Arthur Dayne at the Tower of Joy, he rode back to Starfall to return the Sword of Morning. Ashara threw herself in the sea when Eddard Stark rode North with their son, Jon Snow. Rhaenys hasn’t told Jon because she does not know how to broach the subject. Also, she knows that though the story is romantic, there seems to be some flaws to the truth of it, so she does not speak of it. However, Jon’s mother has never tried to contact him, never written. They don’t know where his mother is, if she cried when he left, or if she gave him up willingly. Rhaenys likes to think it is Ashara Dayne who threw herself from Starfall in a fit of sorrow when Eddard rode back to Catelyn.

A week or two before her birthday, she starts receiving messages wishing her a happy name day from around the Seven Kingdoms. She receives messages from Hoster Tully, the Royces of the Vale, the Blackwoods, the Freys, the Darrys, and the Whents from the Riverlands, and candied fire plums from House Tyrell and wine from the Redwynes. She receives a glass dragon from House Velayron and a book of about dragons from the Hightowers. She has never received so many letters and notes wishing her well her from across the Seven Kingdoms. Perhaps she is not as unloved as she thought. 

 

Two days before her birthday feast, a Martell caravan arrives at Winterfell from White Harbor to celebrate Rhaenys sixteenth nameday, leading to some concern on Lord Stark’s part. Tyene Sand is riding a white horse at the front of the train. Ser Daemon Sand is there. He helps Tyene off her horse. She steps down and introduces them as gifts for her cousin, Princess Rhaenys Martell Targaryen.

Ser Daemon Sand is very handsome with a rakish quality, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He is easy to smile at her. With great flourish he thanks Lord Stark, his honor, his hospitality and then he kneels and swears allegiance to the Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. has brought twenty five of the best young knights of Dorne to be Rhaenys personal guard in King’s Landing.

There is a personal tutor named Myrta Gymbuto. She is from Qoohor and she comes in a wheelhouse carved with black animals and trees. She is there to tutor her in High Valyrian, history of Essos, and Rhoynish poetry and songs. She is lovely with blue hair and eyes that are as blue as her dyed hair. Myrta is a gift from her Aunt, the Lady Mellario sent to her so she can practice her Valyrian and learn about her Rhoynish ancestors. She has brought ravens, a five small white goats, and three small lemurs that are silver and purple eyed that are known as Little Valyrians. 

When she emerges from her wheelhouse, one of her lemurs is sleeping wrapped around her shoulders. She kisses both hands of Rhaenys and looks into the faces of the Stark family, as if they are a book from the library and she is reading them. She mutters something about the blood of the First Men and makes her introductions to the Starks. Lady Stark gives her rooms in the library tower where her ravens can fly, but later, she overhears the servants say that the people of Qoohor are know to practice dark magic and Lady Catelyn is afraid of Myrta. Rhaenys thinks she might be one of the most unusual person she has met and can’t wait for her lessons to start.   
Besides Tyene Sand, they bring Allyria Dayne with her beautiful dark hair and purple eyes, and Myria Jordayne, a sandy haired girl with bright blue eyes. Both are daughters from noble Houses in Dorne. They bring a chest letters from the Houses of Dornes and gifts to celebrate her nameday.   
Alienora, a Lysene girl, who is only a little older than Rhaenys, will be her handmaiden to dress her and braid her hair in all the latest styles. Alienora is beautiful with silver gold hair and lilac eyes. She is gorgeous and as soon as she steps out of the wheelhouse, Rhaenys sees the way Theon, Robb and Jon are speechless fools, in front of her, even though she is just a servant. It makes her wish she looked like her father and she wonders if her Uncle Viserys and her Aunt Daenerys are as lovely. 

They bring spices, fruits, swords, and horses, wine and a chest for Rhaenys on her birthday. Lady Stark looks flustered at where she might house so many additions to the household and Lord Stark takes Ser Daemon Sand aside and discusses things in secret. Lord Stark seems wary of such a display but there is little he can say if the King allows it and even less, with most of the Northern Lords on their way to celebrate her name day feast.

When Alienora helps her prepare for bed. Rhaenys tries to sit as still as possible and act like a Princess would. Rhaenys is so nervous about the next few days, she doesn’t think she shall ever fall asleep. However, sleep eventually does claim her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. I still have no idea how this will end but I wanted to make Rhaenys have a fighting chance in King's Landing... I also think that her uncles would not want her to go without some protection. Now, she has some protection and counsel that isn't entirely Stark and Stark household. (If Ned Stark is found to be a traitor and his whole household slaughtered, Rhaenys will have her own separate household.) 
> 
> There will probably be two more chapters about her 16th nameday feast. (They are mostly written..)


	7. Chapter 7

Rhaenys wakes in the dawn to Arya in her bed with her. Arya’s feet are cold pressed against her legs. “Gods, Arya .. are you trying to freeze me to death?”

Rhaenys wraps the blankets between them making sure the girl’s feet are covered. Arya giggles. She is a ball of excited energy because of the upcoming festivities. 

“Do you think father will allow Robb or Jon in the melee? To fight with your favor? Which houses do you think will come? Who will come?”  
Rhaenys hugs the seven year old and thinks about it. “I do not think your father will allow it. They are thirteen and too small still. But maybe the archery?”

Arya says with certainty. “Theon will probably win that..”  
The little girl is quiet, so quiet that Rhaenys thinks she has fallen back to sleep. Rhaenys snuggles up against her and starts tp fall back to sleep, when she hears Arya’s voioe say.

“Happy 16th name day Rhae..” 

 

Alienora comes to wake, wash and dress her. Nora, as she prefers to be called, tells Arya to go back to her room or she will wash, dress her, and braid her hair in an elaborate braid from Lys, which will take an hour. Arya rolls her eyes and sighs, but leaves when the hair brush comes out. 

Mouse has never had a maid. She had Old Nan when she was a child and Lady Catelyn, but never her own person to dress her and do her hair. It makes her feel special. She wants to get to know this strange and beautiful woman. While Alienora dresses her, Rhaenys asks her questions about Lys and her life before she came to her. She finds out that Alienora’s father was a perfumer in Lys and her mother was his slave. In Lys, if your mother is a slave than you are as well. Oberyn bought her and freed her so that she could be Rhaenys’ servant. Rhaenys is shocked to learn that her maid was once a slave and promises that she will never be treated unfairly or cruelly. Rhaenys would like to be this strange beautiful woman’s friend. Soon, Rhaenys will be a stranger in a new world, King’s Landing, and she hopes people will be kind to her.

Lady Catelyn made her a beautiful dress of purple satin. It highlights the fact her eyes are the deepest purple, so dark that they are almost black. Even though Rhaenys is slight and slender, Nora ties the laces of her corset tight. Nora has made some adjustments to the dress and now the neckline is lower and reveals more of her neck and shoulders.

She spends the morning welcoming the Northern lords, ladies and bannermen to her nameday feast. The Manderlys bring her a blue spear with a silver trident on the end. The Boltons bring her sour cherries in wine that are delicious, but stain your teeth a terrible red. Rhaenys finds Domeric Bolton the heir to Dreadfort delightful. Domeric Bolton has come home to have short visit with his father and come to the feast and meet the Princess. He is squired with Lord Redfort in the Vale. They say he is good at the horse. He tells her that he wishes that they were having a joust because he might be able to win. He asks if she will plays her harp with him on the first night and his voice is clear and deep like a river. He laughs and she feels her heart twist a little. He asks if he could have her token at the melee tomorrow. She laughs. And knows that she will give it to him. 

The Umbers give her a beautiful black fur cloak, “It doesn't get cold in King's Landing often, but when it does remember us.”

The Reeds bring a beautiful necklace made of river pearls. Lord Reed is a small man with brown skin that almost seems ringed with green. Lord Stark is so happy to see his friend . As they embrace, they joke and laugh and in their joy, they seem younger. The Dustins bring a pair of fine boots for riding. The Karstarks bring her a necklace with silver and topaz. The Cerwyns bring gloves made of soft warm fur on the inside and fine black.

Lady Maege Mormont comes with her daughters Dacey, Lyra, Jorelle and Lyanna. Jorelle Mormont is about the same age as Rhaenys. Jory is wonderful and can fight as well as a man. She is tall almost six feet with dark hair and a long face. Lady Mormont brings a bear skin for the Princess to put on her bed and keep her warm on the winter nights. She has Jory unroll it so Rhaenys can see it. Rhaenys thinks that she would like Jory Mormont to be one of her attendants and that she will ask Lord Stark about it. 

Northern men do not have tourneys like they do in the South, with jousting matches and colorful heraldry but they will have a melee and a wrestling match and they will have an archery contest and a throwing of stones. Lady Catelyn seems apologetic but there will be tourneys enough when she gets to King's Landing. She wants to enjoy her Northern home and the customs here while she can. They have been embroidering ribbons of black and red with stags of gold for days, Robb Theon Jon, and even Bran have all stated they will wear her token and bring honor. 

Lord Stark has had stands constructed on the outside of Winterfell, simple crude things so people might sit and watch. The mele will be held on the morrow, but the younger mena nd squires have the chance to practice. Lady Mormont brags on her daughter’s skill in fighting. Robb decides to challenge her, though Ned Stark seems to disapprove. In the practice melee, Jory beats Robb. When she helps Robb up, Theon laughs at Robb for being beat by a girl. Jory challenges him and beats him, While he is in the dirt, bleeding slightly, all she says is, “I have been trained to fight krakens since I could walk.”

Wylla, Sansa, Tyene, Allyria, and Rhaenys watch the games and laugh and tease. She wants to talk to Allyria and ask her questions about Starfall and House Dayne. After all, she could be Jon’s cousin. However, she must wait for a better time, when she is friends with this young woman. 

Before her birthday feast, Lady Catelyn makes sure the young ladies all go back in their room to rest and relax before the festivities. Tyebe and Allyria go to their rooms. Myrta comes to her room. She is dying Wylla’s hair green like a mermaid for the feast. Myrta says that she will teach Rhaenys all the history and culture she needs to know.

As Myrta dyes Wylla’s hair, she asks about the Starks and her life in Winterfell. There is something warm and inviting about Myrta. Even though she is mysterious and exotic, she seems to be calming to Rhaenys. Rhaenys tells her of how the Starks are like her brothers and sisters. She tells her how Sansa will go with her to King’s Landing, as her most trusted advisor, and Arya, as well. She talks of how Arya longs to be a knight and wield a sword like Nymeria or Danny Flint, how Bran wants to be a knight in the Kingsguard. Rhaenys tells her about how she is closest to Jon and Robb.

Myrta smiles, “It is good that you were raised her, my Princess. You have been safe and well-loved. I do not see anything around Robb but Jon is full of old magic. Perhaps, the blood of the First Men is strong in him. It calls to your blood of Old Valyria. Like calls to like. Be careful, Princess. Old blood magic is a strong force. 

When Myrta is done dying Wylla’s hair, she slips a letter into her hand from her pocket. “Show no one this, your grace.”

Rhaenys wants to tell Myrta not to call her that. She is not married to the Prince and if Robert heard, he would punish them. Before she is able to, she sees the wax seal on the letter. It is a wax seal of a three headed dragon. Rhaenys has never seen her House sigil as a seal. This must mean the letter is from her family. She turns toward the fireplace, so that the other girls won’t see her.

It is from her Uncle Viserys in Lys. He writes that he and Daenerys are heading to Pentos to stay with an ally who will help them win the Golden Company. Once he has his army, he will come for her and they will be married since he is the rightful king. All will be well and the Targaryens will be on the Iron Throne. 

Rhaenys knows that this letter is treason. She looks at Myrta and without telling Sansa or Wylla what it says, she throws it in the fire. She does not speak of it to anyone. 

At the dinner, they serve her favorite roast ducks and pigs, with mushrooms, fennel, turnips and carrots in a rich brown gravy. There are kidney pies and thick brown ale. She is able to drink as much as she likes and it isn’t watered down. She is sixteen. One of her gifts is that Jon is able to sit with the family at the feast. Lady Catelyn makes him sit at the end of the head table, but he still sits with the family.

There is music and dancing. At first, the Northern Lords bid her to play her harp. She sings a song by herself and then she asks for Domeric Bolton to join her. They sing the song of Danny Flint. The crowd cheers and Domeric asks her for the first dance.

She dances with Robb and Jon and any other Lord who would care to dance. She notices how pretty Wylla’s hair looks. Robb and Wylla are dancing to most of the songs together. It makes Rhaenys smile to see her friend so happy with Robb. She thinks they make a charming couple. 

In the middle of the dancing, Tyene Sand decides to make an announcement of her Uncle’s gift to Rhaenys on her sixteenth nameday. Ser Daemon Sand brings forward an ornate chest with gold and elaborately designs. 

Rhaenys opens it and inside are two dragons eggs. One of the eggs is silverish white, like a pearl with veins of silver and opal flame. The second one is red with streaks of black and gold. They are heavy like stone but feel like china. When she touches them, she feels a stirring, a potential. 

How Oberyn got his hands on it, she will never know. They are so precious and costly. She could ransom a King with how much these are worth. There are cheers to see the eggs, but there is something else. She sees the tension around Lord Stark’s eyes and the forced smile on Lady Stark’s face. Rhaenys knows that her uncle giving her these is a challenge to the King, reminding everyone that she is a Targaryen by blood and name, reminding everyone Baratheons have only sat on the throne for a little over a decade. 

She smiles sweetly and thanks her cousin. She tries to downplay what has just happened. If she acts like it didn’t happen, maybe no one else will notice. 

As the feast wraps up, Septa Mordane makes sure that Wylla and Sansa and Rhaenys are all in bed before the hour grows late. When Sansa falls asleep, Wylla asks her to sneak out and head to the godswood and meet Robb who brings wine, so that they can celebrate without the entire North watching. Rhaenys asks about the guard and she says Robb has taken care of it. 

When they open the door, there is no guard. Briefly, Rhaenys wonders how Robb got the guard to leave. She worries about her dragon eggs but thinks that they will be safe in Winterfell. They sneak past the yard in cloaks, until they get to the godswood.  
It is just Jon and Robb. Robb tells them that Theon has found a girl from the kitchens. They throw smooth stones into the pool in front of the Heart Tree. They tell stories and they drink gulps of the sour Dornish wine, toasting to Rhaenys name day.  
Robb and Wylla go into the forest to see some flower or tree. It is an excuse for them to be alone. Jon and Rhaenys watch them from behind a tree grow closer awkwardly and kiss small careful measured kisses. Slowly, their kisses get longer and sweeter. 

Rhaenys looks away embarrassed that she is feeling a warm ache by watching them. Jon sinks down on the grass beside her. He is sitting on the ground by her feet. She sinks down next to him. “Did you have a nice name day?”

“Of course, I had a wonderful party and gifts. For the first time, I felt like a real princess. It all started to feel real that one day I will be Queen. Of course, it makes me feel bad to think that I never gotten you anything for your name day this year. What present would you like Jon?” 

He smiles, “ No, you don't need to.. I don't need a name day present.”

“You can't deny me. I will be your Queen.” She is smiling playfully.”I command you. You must do as I say.”

Jon laughs, “Of course.. I forgot, your Grace, your Highness.” 

“Now what should I give you as a present?”

“No.. I don't want anything.” 

“I will give you anything , Anything .. a sword, the fur cloak,.. Not the dragon eggs.” she says playfully. She stands up and he stands with her.

He looks at her and over the giggles and whispers of Wylla and Robb. Robb keeps touching her hair and saying she looks like a real mermaid. Jon rolls his eyes at the couple and says “I keep thinking about that kiss you gave Theon. I cannot stop thinking about it.”   
“It was just a kiss…”  
“I know but I think of it often.”  
She smiled shyly. “It was not even a very good kiss. I am sure that Theon would give you one if you asked sweetly.”  
He pushes her gently and laughs. “That is a shame… that it wasn’t any good.”   
“Too bad I am stuck up here in this Northern Wilderness with only a squid boy to kiss me.” 

“For my present.. I would like a kiss from the Princess.”   
“So you think you can do any better than Theon?”  
“I aim to try…. “

He steps close to her. When he is close to her, she notices that he has gotten thicker and taller, though Jon will never be tall. There is a tension between them and he is looking at her so closely.

“Kiss me,” she says ashamed at how her voice cracks.  
He looks hesitant, like she is asking him to commit a crime which she is and he has changed his mind. After all, Jon is all Stark and his honor is thick. 

“Please..” she whispers, stepping into him and touching his chest. 

He kisses her lightly on the lips. Jon is holding his breath and he isn't touching her at all. She pulls him toward her and opens her mouth softly tasting him.  
“Don’t you like it?” She says gently.  
He pulls away and looks into her deep dark eyes. “Yes .”

Myrta was right his soul calls to hers in a song only they hears. There is a strong magical pull between them . She has read that the Daynes were married to Targaryens and sometimes came out with silver hair and purple eyes. Was the blood magic of Old Valyria what pulled him to her?

Rhaenys laughs and pushes the tangle of hair out of her face. 

Jon reaches down and kisses her neck from her ear to the ticklish part of her neck. She hums an approving sound in her throat. Pressing herself against him to feel him against her, his kiss deepens and he opens his mouth and pushes his tongue between her lips to taste her. She clutches his head and responds by doing the same. He hums in the back of his throat and his hands are on her lower back, pressing her into him. Rhaenys feels the hardness between his legs and realizes this is not a child’s game they are playing. She opens her eyes to look at him. His pupils are so black that his eyes match his hair. 

She thinks that she would like to touch him and have him touch her. She grinds slightly against him and feels delightful sensations her body is making. This is desire and want.

At that moment , Ser Daemon Sand steps out of the darkness and clears his throat. “Princess Rhaenys, I believe it is late and your Septa might not appreciate you being out so late. I will escort you and Lady Wylla back to your chamber before anyone notices your absence.” 

Jon turns red and steps away from her quickly. Rhaenys laughs, flushed with embarrassment and desire. She wants to say something to Jon, to tell him how he made her feel, to do it again and again and see if it will always feel that way. As she takes Wylla’s hand and lets Ser Daemon lead her to her room, she thinks on how long he was there for and what he witnessed.

Rhaenys falls asleep with Sansa on one side and Wylla on the other talking about the future and all the possibilities but in the back of her mind, she is thinking of Jon.


End file.
